Warning: Guns, blood, death
Word Count: 1560 Words
Requested by: BlackBandit22
Quick A/N: Hallo, my lovely readers. Life has a funny way of disrupting plans, but after yet another very long hiatus, I am back (hopefully for a while). I apologize for the very long waits for those of you that have requested imagines, but I have decided to adopt a new system that should hopefully make it easier on my end. Instead of writing these imagines in order, I will be writing them as the ideas come to mind, which means the more description you place in your request, the more likely I am to publish it sooner rather than later. I am also still in Uni, so I may very well still be slow to publish. Thank you all for supporting this collection, respecting me and my writing style, and keeping the love for the Maze Runner alive. ~ Jan. 29, 2023
• • • • •
The moment Thomas had laid his eyes on Rebekah, he knew he wanted to give her the life she deserved. She had been in the Glade much longer than he had, almost a year and a half more than him, though time was hard to keep track of within those stone walls. When the two first met, she was accompanied by the Keeper of the Runners. Minho and her were close, considering he made the executive decision to allow her to be the first (and only) female Runner.
After Thomas had run into the Maze to help Minho and Rebekah rescue Alby, she had seen a side of him she'd never seen in anyone else. He was caring, determined, strong-willed; they needed a Runner like that. Gally had given her a hard time for her vote, but she didn't care. Thomas was a natural born leader.
"Why did you run into the Maze that night?" She had questioned the Greenie when they stood alone in the Mapping Hut one day.
Thomas shrugged. "You and Minho were trying to help Alby. I couldn't just stand by and watch you struggle when you were so close to safety."
The more the two talked, the closer they got. When Teresa arrived a month later, the two were practically dating. They spent their time day dreaming about life outside of the Walls, where they would go and what they would do. That's when Thomas said he would do everything he could so she could live out those dreams, and that's when Rebekah confessed she'd admired him for a while.
They were out of the Maze now, wandering in the Scorch for the Right Arm. Hardly any of the Gladers made it out of the Maze safely, and those who did didn't all make it. Thomas had made Rebekah his priority. The two had gone through so much together, the thought of him losing her would break him entirely.
They'd found the Right Arm, feeling safe and secure in their small camp. They were far from W.I.C.K.E.D.'s grasp now and finally they could take a sigh of relief. The group sat on the ground, laughing amongst themselves. Thomas gently interlaced his fingers with Rebekah's, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. She turned to him and smiled, squeezing his hand. As his gaze turned back to everyone, he noticed someone was missing: Teresa. He scanned the horizon, looking for the girl. Maybe she was overwhelmed with everything that had happened and needed a breather. He saw her overlooking the desert and curiosity got to the best of him. "I'm going to go see if Teresa's ok. I'll be right back."
As he walked off, Minho shook his head. Rebekah squinted her eyebrows in question. "I don't trust her. There's something off with her." He got up and followed.
Before they'd gotten to the Right Arm, Teresa brought it to Thomas's attention that she believed W.I.C.K.E.D. was good, that back at the facility, everything would've been fine. To his surprise, she still decided to come with them even after he told her she could go back if she wanted to.
"Teresa?" His voice was quiet as he approached her. "Is everything ok?"
"Everything will be," She didn't face him, just continued staring off into the distance. "Do you regret leaving the Maze?"
His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Why would I? We're free now."
She shook her head with a short laugh, and turned to look at him. "You don't know what's out there," He hesitated. "I remember my life before W.I.C.K.E.D. I remember how my mother screamed and cried after getting the Flare and how I would've been killed by her if it weren't for them. "Thomas," She smiled, her eyes widened as if she had successfully persuaded him. "We can go home. They can help us."
Minho stepped forward to him. "Don't listen to her," He spoke with assertion, direction. "We've seen what they've done."
"Oh, please," The brunette muttered, under her breath. "Thomas, don't you want Rebekah to have the life you promised she'd get? To be safe, to start a family, to grow old with each other?" The boy didn't respond. "You won't get that from these people. They're lying to you, using you and her so you'll give them what they want. W.I.C.K.E.D. will make sure you get what you want, what you deserve."
"Don't listen to her, Thomas," Minho's voice was louder now, catching the attention of the others. Rebekah glanced over to the two boys, and they quietly approached the commotion. "We know they'll run their stupid experiments on us until they find some type of Cure. You saw what they did to those kids in that room, you know what they want."
"Enough!" Teresa shouted, pulling a small gun from her pocket. She pointed it at Minho, who gulped and waved Thomas off. He refused to move. Everything seemed to be slowed down: The pistol in her hands, Teresa's eyes shut like she didn't want to see what she had done, Thomas yelling in the background, his eyes wide as he watched Rebekah run towards Minho. "WICKED is good."
Suddenly, she collided with the Keeper's side, pushing him out of the way as the trigger was pulled by Teresa's dainty finger. Newt and Frypan lunged for the W.I.C.K.E.D. spy, sliding the gun of the desert floor away from everyone. Thomas pulled his girlfriend in his arms as they stood, his lips pressing a kiss to her forehead, one arm supporting her by the waist and the other playing with the hair on the side of her face. Minho stared in shock from his stance in utter silence.
"Is everyone alright?" Newt yelled, and Thomas nodded. Rebekah would've nodded too if she hadn't felt so dizzy, and when she collapsed into Thomas's arms, she knew something was wrong.
"Rebekah, baby?" His words stuttered as he tried to help her to her feet, but she crumbled to the ground like a fallen tree. He sat on the ground, pulling the girl into his arms as she winced, her hand resting on her chest. When she pulled her hand away, she looked at it and panic set in, her eyes wide, breathing quickening. Thomas saw it too, and held her closer: the crimson slowly soaking through her clothes, staining her perfect, small hands. "Medic," He yelled over his should. "Please, someone, I need a medic! She's been shot!"
His head turned back to her, tears building up in her eyes. She couldn't leave him like this, not after what happened to Chuck, not when they were so close to Paradise and the life they dreamed about. "I don't want to go," The tears were falling now, her body shaking. "I don't want to die."
He pressed his hand onto her wound, but her blood was everywhere now. "Hey, look at me," His voice broke. "You're not going to die. It's going to be ok, just keep your eyes open. Doc's gonna get you fixed up, ok, baby?" He turned back over his shoulder to shout to anyone. Her body stopped shaking, her breathing slowed, and his attention turned back to her. "No," He couldn't help the wails from escaping his mouth. "No, please don't leave me. We're so close."
Her voice was just a whisper: I love you. She couldn't hold on anymore. This was her time to depart, and slowly the light took hold of her vision and her breathing stopped.
He shook her, hand still placed on her bullet wound. He called her name and shook her again. "Wake up," He pleaded. "Come on, Rebekah, wake up!" He tried again and again through each breaking sob, the remaining Gladers unable to watch, struck with their own grieving of the loss of their friend. Minho's jaw clenched in anger and he stepped towards Teresa, but Newt held him back by his forearm. The tears slowly fell down the Second-in-Command's face and he shook his head. Now was not the time for revenge.
After they held each others gaze for a few seconds, Minho nodded and they turned to Thomas. His sniffling and crying was loud, heartbreaking, as he held his girlfriend tightly in an embrace. In the distance, the engines of Berg's could be heard flying overhead, but all Thomas could think about is how badly he wanted Rebekah back.